The Hero and The Sorcerer: Escape the Shadows
by Wolf of the Black Rose
Summary: Jaden lost his brother to a Shadow Game a few months before coming to Duel Academy. After the Abandoned Dorm adventure, his brother returns. But the forces that took him are not done yet.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back and can't wait for school to be done. Anyway, he's a new fanfiction.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX. If I did Jaden and Jesse would have gotten together. I only own my OC's and any cards I make up.**

**Sakura: This story's going to be a little different. This will start at episode 5. Also, before the start of the story, Jaden had met Titan before with my OC, who is a surprise. Titan battles my OC in a fake Shadow Game, but at the end it became real and he went missing. Titan's main reason for taking Crowler's job was to finish what he started because Jaden escaped.**

**Anyway, here we go. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Just a story… or is it?

It was late at the Slifer red dorm's mess hall. Three boys were up late, playing a ghost story telling game with duel monster cards. The higher the level the scarier the story has to be. The three boys in question were Syrus, a short blue haired boy with glasses, Chumley, a heavy set guy with black hair styled like a koala and finally, Jaden, a brown haired brown eyed boy with a secret not even his friends know. They were currently listening to Syrus's turn.

"I went out into the woods, and underneath the full moon, I see a path leading to a cavern that seems… abandoned!" Syrus said, trying to be dramatic.

"Then what?" Jaden asked, interested.

"Then at the back of the cavern I see a mysterious lake. So I go into look very carefully and under just the right angle of light, at the very bottom of the lake beyond my reflection, I see a rare and powerful card. Naturally I go to get it, but when I reach for it… an arm shoots out, grabs me, and pulls me into the water! AAAAAHHHHHH! HELP ME, NOT THE WATER, ANYTHING BUT THE WATER!" Syrus had gotten so into his story that he thought he was in it.

"Ah, come on. Water's not that scary." Jaden pointed out, smiling at his friends hysterical nature.

"Dirty swamp water?" Syrus asked, calming down a bit. Jaden shook his head. Syrus sighed. "You're right, only a chump would be scared of that story." he was unaware that Chumley was cowering in the corner behind him.

"Still, good story," Jaden said picking up the four monster. "Mid-level scares for a mid-level card. Now for me, I hope I get a high level one." Jaden drew from the deck and flipped the card over. It was a level seven monster. "Hmm… I have just the story in mind."

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid…" Chumley was chanting as he rejoined the table.

"It's not too scary is it?" Syrus asked, trying to convince himself that it won't be so bad.

"That'll depend on what you think," Jaden replied and started his story. "It takes place about five months ago. There were two boys, brothers. They were walking home from school, talking about future plans, when the youngest was pulled into an alley and knocked out. The other brother tried to save him, but the attacker overpowered him and knocked him out too…"

"What happened to them?" Syrus asked, getting scared.

"I'm getting to that. When the brothers woke, they found themselves in a dark warehouse. But not just any warehouse, it was the warehouse where the Rare Hunters took Joey Wheeler during the Battle City tournament. Some say that some of their shadow magic still lingers. The man who grabbed them appeared and challenged the younger brother to a Shadow Game, but his older brother took his place. The duel was long and fierce but by a low handed trick, the man won. Before either brother could move, shadows shot out from the dark corners of the room and grabbed the older brother, dragging him into the shadows despite his struggles."

Syrus and Chumley were shaking by this point. "Before his brother could vanish completely, he turned to his little brother and yelled 'run' before tossing him his prized card. Then the Shadows got what they wanted. The man started laughing maniacally and the remaining brother ran. Far and fast. Some dock workers came across him while he was running. When he stopped, he told them what happened. Some of the workers went to check out the warehouse. There was no sign of the older boy. The workers kept the boy calm and called the police. The remaining brother just cried, cried for his brother, knowing that he couldn't hear him."

When Jaden was done, he saw that Chumley was hiding his face in his hands and Syrus cowering under the table. "Well, that answers my question about if you liked the story."

"T-T-That was s-s-so worth s-s-seven stars." Syrus said from his place as he got up.

"Thanks." Jaden said, trying to hide the pain coming to his eyes, like he knew the boys in the story.

"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" A laugh came from behind Jaden. "Hey, I want to join in on the fright fest!" It was only Professor Banner and Pharaoh, a long black haired man with a fat tabby cat.

"GYAH!" was the response he got because Syrus had fallen out of his chair and Chumley had scrambled back to the corner.

"You just did!" Syrus responded, still freaked out.

"We're kind of on the edge of our seats here." Jaden added.

"Or at least we were," Syrus added. "But since you're here, why don't you take a turn. The higher the level the scarier your story has to be."

"Well, that sounds simple enough." Banner drew a card. It had the highest level possible!

"That's a level twelve monster." Jaden said in a hushed tone.

"Ok, I think I'm going to go to bed now." Syrus said.

Banner laughed again. "What's wrong, don't you want to hear about the Abandoned Dorm?"

"Abandoned Dorm?" Jaden asked, no curious and scared about where this could head.

Banner pulled up a chair and sat down. "When this school was first constructed, there was a fourth dorm on the island, but it was closed down after students mysteriously went missing."

"Where did they go?" Syrus asked.

"Well, that's the mystery of it," Banner replied. "But the rumor was that it had something to do with Shadow Games."

That comment made Jaden's heart skip a beat.

"Thanks, you can stop now!" Chumley begged from behind another table.

"You see children, Shadow Games are duels played with mystical items." Banner explained.

"Millennium Items, right?" Jaden asked, trying to hide the growing fear in his chest. "I've heard about them, but they're just a myth."

Banner chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "That is what most people say, but I find that most stories, they generally have to come from somewhere." Pharaoh yawned. "Well, that is my cue to go home. Good night, children." With that, Banner left.

"Good night, Professor." Jaden and Syrus said.

"You know, I saw this creepy old building out in the woods a few days ago." Syrus mentioned.

Jaden, ignoring his fear, said, "Sweet, then you can lead us there tomorrow night."

"What do you mean "us"?" Chumley asked coming back over.

"It'll be fun," Jaden said. "We might even find out what happened to the missing students."

'_And I may find out what happened to him.'_ he added that last part in his head.

With that, they decided to go to bed, not knowing they had been heard.

Dr. Crowler heard the entire thing from outside. "This is just the opportunity that I've been waiting for," he said excitedly. "I think it's time the Shadow Games made a comeback, Millennium items and all." He walked away thinking of just the person to recruit.

Jaden was upstairs trying to get to sleep, but he couldn't. The adventure to the Abandoned Dorm was keeping him awake as well as memories he had been trying to keep hidden.

'_Maybe I shouldn't have told that story.' _he thought, turning over to look out the window.

He left the curtains open so he could see the moon and stars. The sight alone brought back memories of a moon and stars of another time and place with a person he cared about deeply.

"I miss you, bro." Jaden said softly and silently cried as he finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

**And this chapter 1. I hope you liked it, remember to read and review. Be back soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys! Sorry I'm late! On with the disclaimer!**

**Sakura: Wolf don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX. If she did Jaden and Jesse would have gotten together. She only owns her OC's and any cards she makes up.**

Chapter 2: The Return

_At the same time we stopped, in the city_

In a dark alleyway in Domino City, a duel was just about to end with one of the duelists terrified for his life. Said guy was wearing street clothes, and sunglasses even though it was night, and he was bald.

"Okay, you win, take whatever you want!" He cried.

"What I want," a metal masked man in a black trench coat wearing a duel harness similar to Crowler's but the tray was on the sleeve and looked like a bat or demon wing, responded. "Is you soul!" He held up a gold-colored upside down pyramid with a single eye in the center. It suddenly started glowing as the opponent begged for his life…

"Please show some mercy!"

The man just looked on emotionlessly as the pyramid spread around the scared man. "Mercy? What is that?" The gold light turned white as the opponent screamed and fell over, scattering the cards from his deck.

"Rest in peace; in the Shadows." As he went over to make sure his opponent was down, his cell phone rang. "Speak." The person on the other end gave a time, place, and some other details. "Duel Academy… I'll be there."

He hung up the phone and smirked. He pulled a newspaper clipping out of his pocket. The headline was _**Shadow Game Abduction! And elaborate kidnapping or something much more sinister?**_ The photo under it showed a teen who looked like Jaden being comforted by two adults. "Now will be the chance to tie up some loose ends."

The next day during class, Jaden and Syrus were asleep in class while Banner gave his lesson. No one was surprised by this, but they didn't know that this time it was because Jaden hadn't gotten any sleep because his old nightmares about _that_ day had decided to make a return that night. He had just been thankful that he hadn't woken up screaming this time.

He was unaware though that Crowler was peeking in on them. '_Get your rest while you can, Slacker!'_ Crowler thought. '_Because tonight you'll be getting a real lesson… on the Shadows Games!'_

Later that night, Crowler stood alone at the docks next to the lighthouse, waiting. He was about to give up when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw man in black standing a few feet away from him. He was tall, wearing a black trenchcoat and a wide brimmed hat, like a fedora. He also had a silver mask covering his eyes.

Crowler looked at the man. "Are you the one they call the Shadow Duelist?" he asked.

"My opponents call me many things, but most of them are hard to discern because of their screams of terror. What's the job?" he asked as fog formed around him. Crowler was very impressed and knew this idea was going to work.

"I want you to frighten someone so intensely, that he'll leave the island and never come back! Are you up to the challenge?" Crowler asked.

"Of course!" the man replied. "I never turn my back on a challenge!"

Crowler nodded. "Now, who do I make the check out to?" he asked as an afterthought.

"Titan," the Shadow Duelist answered. "And I won't only scare him, I'll banish him to the Shadow Realm!" Then the fog disappeared, along with the man, now known as Titan.

"Oh, very well. I hope I'm getting my money's worth." Crowler muttered, not realizing just who exactly he hired.

Around this same time, the Slifer trio was in the woods trying to find the Abandoned Dorm. Key word was trying.

"You know, you could think of it was being lost, or you can think of it as finding a few places where it's not…" Jaden was saying, trying to keep everyone's spirits up, and to help him keep his nerve.

"We've been 'finding' places of almost an hour." Syrus complained.

"Well, it could be worse, ya know," Chumley thought out loud. "At least for Syrus, anyway."

"For Sy?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, we could be near a puddle of dirty swamp water!" Chumley said in an attempted spooky voice.

"Very funny, like you weren't the one who refused to bathe because you were scared of the bath water last night." Syrus retorted, not amused.

"Yeah, well maybe if you cleaned it once in awhile then it wouldn't look so swampish." Chumley argued.

"Maybe if you grew up and started to take showers…" Syrus threw back, but before he could finish that statement, Jaden spoke up.

"Hey, guys… check this out." Jaden aimed his flashlight ahead of them. The light landed on a rose on the ground in front of a wall.

"Check out what's behind it…" Syrus said. They looked to see a run down building similar to the Obelisk dorm with boarded up windows and debri on several parts of the property.

"The old dorm!" Jaden said, stating the obvious and having mixed feelings on the situation.

"And probably lots of ghosts, too!" Chumley added in fear.

"Relax guys, there's nobody here." Jaden assured them, but he was starting to get a little annoyed.

Before anyone could say anything else, the snap of someone stepping on a twig was heard behind them. That got a reaction out of Syrus and Chumley.

"Ah! Then what's that?!" They both yelped and jumped behind Jaden in fright.

Jaden turned and his flashlight landed on a familiar blond haired girl wearing the female Obelisk uniform.

"Oh, hey, Alexis." Jaden said casually, while Syrus and Chumley clung to him like scared little kids.

"Alexis?" Syrus asked, letting go of Jaden. "What are you doing here?"

Alexis walked towards them, frowning. "That's funny, I was about to ask you the same thing." she said in a stern tone.

"We heard about the Abandoned Dorm and came to check it out." Jaden explained to her.

"Well, that's not very intelligent, don't you know kids have a way of disappearing around here?" Alexis inquired.

Jaden stomped down on the trauma that was threatening to rise in his throat. "Aw, come on, that's just an urban myth." He was mostly trying to reassure himself.

"No, it's not. Believe me, I know. Why else would the academy make this place completely forbidden? They catch you and they'll expel you, Jaden." She told him, hoping to get him to turn around.

The brunette was getting nervous, but he hid it behind his trademark grin. "Sure, okay, then why are you here?"

The Obelisk Queen got defensive at this. "I have my reasons, that's why!" she snapped.

Jaden was taken aback by the outburst. "Whoa, Alexis, no need to snap. We just came here to look around, but he, we'll stay out of your way, don't worry about it!" he said, wondering what got her so angry.

Alexis sighed and looked away from him. "Look, it's just that…" she trailed off and started walking away.

"Just that what?" Syrus asked.

Alexis stopped, then said "One of the kids who disappeared here… was my brother." Her voice was quiet, as if she didn't want to be heard, but she was.

The three boys gasped slightly, Jaden turning to look at the rose, putting two and two together. '_Oh, that explains the rose…' _he thought, his heart going out in empathy for the Obelisk girl. He looked back up and saw that Alexis had already left.

"If Alexis's brother really disappeared here, then the rumors aren't just rumored." Syrus muttered, looking at the old building with renewed fear. "I say we go back!"

"Yeah, well, I say we go in." Jaden responded, still determined to do it.

"What?!" Syrus nearly shouted, but before he could say anything else, he noticed that Jaden and Chumley were already heading inside.

"See ya later, Sy! Don't _disappear _on us!" Jaden cracked, laughing a little.

Syrus looked around as if expecting something to jump out at him. "Disappear?" has asked, as if Jaden was serious. In the end, fear got the better of him. "Oh, wait up!" With that, he ran after the other boys.

When they were back together, the boys started checking out the inside of the dorm. It was a bigger mess on the inside than outside.

Despite that, Jaden thought the place was cool. "This place is sweet!" he said, cheerfully. "Ya know, a little paint, some cardboard boxes, maybe a throw rug, and we could so totally move in here!"

This made the other two look at him like he was crazy.

"What, are you kidding?" Syrus asked, incredulously. "This is even worse than the Slifer dorm! I mean, what's all this stuff on the walls?" He pointed his flashlight at one of the walls. On it were what looked like hieroglyphics carved or painted into the stone.

"Do you think it has something to do with the Shadow Games?" Chumley asked.

Before he got an answer, Syrus started to freak out because Jaden had gotten to close to the wall to the wall for his liking. "Jaden, don't stand so close, are you nuts?!"

Jaden looked closely at the symbols, recognizing them fairly quickly. "Hey, I think these show the seven Millennium Items. How cool…" When he saw the symbol for the Millennium Puzzle, he felt a chill run down his spine, remembering the last time he saw it.

To keep from having a breakdown, he turned his light to another wall where he saw the photograph of a young man with brown hair and brown eyes. "And that shows someone I've never seen before."

The Slifer boys continued to look around, until they heard a scream.

"That sounded like Alexis!" Syrus realized.

"Let's go!" Jaden said, running down a hallway deeper into the dorm. The other two followed him until they stopped at a staircase that led down into what was probably the lounge area.

"Alexis?" Jaden called, shining his light around the lower level until something caught his eye. He and the others headed downstairs, where he stopped, bent down, and picked something up off the floor.

It was a duel monster card with the image of a ballerina like monster with long flowing hair. Jaden recognized the card as Etoile Cyber, and he knew the owner. "This is Alexis's card!"

Chumley pointed to an entrance in front of them that looked like it lead to a possible basement. "Well then, there's only one place she could have gone!"

"Then that's the way we're going!" Jaden said and they headed down the tunnel, calling Alexis's name every so often.

Soon they came upon a large, underground room that was circular with some kind of pattern on the floor. Across the room, they saw Alexis laying motionless in a coffin.

"Alexis!" Jaden called out, but she didn't respond. Suddenly, there was a malicious laugh, the same one that haunted Jaden's nightmares after the incident.

"She can't hear you. She's far away, locked in the Shadow Realm." The voice said as fog gathered on the other side of the room.

"Who's there?!" Jaden demanded, not liking the deja vu coming over him at all.

A figure rose from the fog, wearing a black trench coat, a black hat, and a silver mask.

"Your worst nightmare come true." The man said ominously.

Jaden took one look at his masked face, and suddenly an onslaught of memories from _that_ day came back to his mind, and almost left him frozen with horror. But he couldn't let the others see.

"Oh, give me a break!" Jaden said sarcastically.

Titan hid the smirk on his face. He knew the boy remembered him and he was going to finish what he started.

"Then let me prove it to you… in a Shadow Game!" He declared, enjoying the sight of a slight tremor coming from the brunette.

"We've got to get Alexis back!" Syrus said.

This was enough to turn Jaden's fear into rage. He was done being scared of this guy. He had already taken one person he cared about and he wasn't going to let it happen again.

"Yeah, so hand her over right now or you'll be sorry!" Jaden demanded, ready to take him down and make him pay.

Titan just stared at them. "The only way I will free her is if you beat me in a Shadow Game."

"He's not lookin' at me, is he?" Chumley asked.

Jaden stepped forward. "Look, I'm not afraid of dueling you, but Shadow Games don't exist!"

"The others didn't believe in the Shadow Games either, but they were soon convinced. For you see, when you lose in a Shadow Game you don't just pay with your life points, you pay with your soul." The Shadow Duelist said, darkly.

"So _you're _the one behind the disappearances here! Well, you're not getting us, especially Alexis!" Jaden swore. He wasn't going to let anyone else suffer because of this man.

"Unless you beat me, she's mine forever, just like your brother." Titan sneered, knowing he struck a nerve when the Slifer brunette scowled.

Syrus and Chumley were confused by the comment, but they didn't have time to ask. Chumley traded Jaden a duel disk for his flashlight. With that, Jaden took his place on the field.

"Alright, get your game on!" Jaden said his catchphrase and brought out his deck.

"Shadow Game, that is!" Titan responded as both activated their duel disks.

Jaden looked over at Alexis and images of an orange eyed boy went through his mind. "Just hang on Alexis, I'll get you out." He turned his attention back to the field. '_You too, Kai. I'll beat this guy and get you back!'_

With that the duel began, with Titan taking an advantage due to a field spell combined with his Archfiends' roulette abilities to cancel out Jaden's combos. But Jaden refused to give up.

He soon discovered that Titan's shadow powers were fake, so he managed to destroy the fake item. Titan decided it was time to flee and Jaden wasn't going to let him. However, just like his brother's duel, this shadow game decided to become real.

Suddenly, a dark dome formed, trapping the two duelists. Jaden soon found himself in the place of his nightmares. He noticed strange blob things seem to possess Titan and then turn on him.

Thankfully, he had two protectors show up. The first was his trusty Winged Kuriboh and the other was the card his brother had tossed to him before he vanished. In front of him was the one and only Dark Magician Girl.

She turned to him. "_I'll protect you, Jaden, I promised my master I would!"_

Before Jaden respond to that, the now possessed Titan spoke. "Jaden Yuki, the Shadows pang for a soul, only one shall survive." He said in a monotone voice.

"No, two will survive this! If I win you release my brother as well!" Jaden demanded.

The thing in the human body just stared at him. "Very well. I accept those terms," It finally said. "Now, let us continue!"

Outside, Syrus and Chumley were worried about Jaden, hoping he was okay. They were also wondering what was really going on, because throughout the duel they could have sworn Jaden was dueling with barely controlled anger. Suddenly, the dome seemed to dissolve and disappear. The remaining Slifers saw their friend crouched in the center of the field and the shadow duelist was gone. They ran over to see if he was okay, but when they reached him they stopped, startled by what they saw.

Jaden was holding someone in his arms. This person was male, but what really got them was how similarly he looked to Jaden. He had Jaden's build and skin tone as well as his hair style, only instead of a light brown patch, the patch was black. His outfit was pretty beat up, consisting of a black tank top, blue jeans, and hiking boots.

What shocked them the most was that Jaden was crying. He had his eyes squeezed shut and tears were falling freely down his face. In the time they knew Jaden, he didn't seem capable of crying, and yet here he is.

Before they could even utter a word, they noticed the boy in Jaden's arms move a bit and then opened his eyes, revealing a pair of orange eyes. The mystery boy shifted a bit to be able to look at the sobbing brunette's face, which caused Jaden to open his eyes and look at the boy he was holding.

"K-K-Kai?" Jaden stuttered, hoping this was real and not a trick.

The boy, called Kai, smiled. "This is the first time in a long time that I've seen you cry, Little Bro." He said hoarsely, like he had lost his voice.

Jaden just started crying harder at this and held his brother closer, almost afraid to let go. Kai returned the hug, inside, feeling the same way as his brother.

By that point, the two onlookers finally put two and two together. They remembered the story Jaden had told them the other night and realized the two boys were Jaden and his brother. At this thought, they both smiled a bit. They came here to save Alexis, instead they saved both Alexis and Jaden's brother.

**Well, that one's done and Kai finally made an appearance. I didn't write the duel because it's basically the same in the show, so I didn't see the point.**

**Sakura: It got a little sappy at the ending.**

**I know, but I like it. Anyway, read, review, and stay tuned.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we go again! Sakura, do your thing!**

**Sakura: Wolf don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX, if she did Jaden and Jesse would have gotten together. She only owns her OC's and any cards she makes up.**

Chapter 3: Reunion and Punishment

The three Slifer boys just left the Abandoned Dorm, with Chumley carrying Alexis and Jaden carrying his brother, who had passed out shortly after regaining consciousness. They had decided to wait for Alexis to come around before Jaden took Kaizen to the infirmary.

They didn't have to wait long soon they heard Alexis stir and slowly come back to reality. When she was fully awake, she found herself in the forest with Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and an unconscious boy that looked like Jaden but she had never seen him before. "Where am I?"

"Hey, morning sleepyhead," Jaden said, staying close to his brother's side.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"Hey, what kind of a thanks is that?" Jaden asked in his usual laid back tone. "We're here because we had to fight the bad guy, win the duel, save the damsel in distress, and reunite with the knight's magician brother along the way." That last part was said with a glance at Kai.

"Yeah, that strange man snatched me," Alexis remembered, "But, who's that guy?"

Jaden looked at his brother. The sight of him after so long and seeing the weaken state he was in made the tears threaten to fall all over again. A few actually formed in the corners of his eyes. He rubbed at his eyes to get rid of them, but Alexis saw them.

This took her aback, never seeing Jaden look so pained. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell what's going on if you don't want to."

"No, I need to. If I don't say now then it will never come out," With that, Jaden told her and the guys everything, from the kidnapping months ago to what had happened in his duel at the end.

Alexis was stunned to learn that the other brown haired boy was Jaden's brother and even more so by what they had been through in both occasions. She felt empathy for Jaden, knowing what it was like to lose a sibling. She took the time to get a better look at Kaizen and she admitted that he was kind of handsome, but she quickly shot that thought down.

Jaden took the time after that to change the subject. "Oh right, we found your card… and this!" He handed Alexis her Etoile Cyber along with the picture of the brown hair Obelisk boy.

Alexis nearly gasped at who was in the photo, "My brother?! This the first trace I've seen of him in a long time!"

Jaden smiled, "I brought it to you to let you know that we want to help you find him. After all, we can't have you going around getting locked up in anymore tombs looking for him by yourself."

"You were really worried about me, weren't you?" Alexis commented.

Before he could answer, Jaden noticed that the sun was rising and he still had to get Kaizen to the infirmary. "Uh oh, sun's up. Syrus, how 'bout you go to the dorm and cover for us if anyone asks. Chumley and I will take Kai to nurse's office." He suggested.

The boys nodded, thinking it was a good plan.

"Bye, Alexis!" Syrus said as they got up, Chumley helping Jaden get Kaizen up.

"Yeah, later!" Chumley followed.

"See you in class!" Jaden said, and they all left toward the dorm/main building, "Oh, and if anyone asks, we were never here!"

As they left, Alexis looked back down at the photo of her brother, '_But you were and you saved me, and now I may have the chance to save my brother, too.'_

After Syrus got to the dorm, Chumley and Jaden made their way to the nurse's office. When they got there, Jaden said he would finish this himself. Chumley agreed, mainly because he wanted to go to bed. So, Jaden took his brother and went into the nurse's office.

By a stroke of luck, despite it being Saturday, Nurse Fontaine, a young woman with brown hair in a bun and blue eyes wearing a pink dress and an Obelisk coat, was in the office. "Nurse Fontaine, I have someone who needs help!" he said.

Fontaine turned and gasped when saw the boy Jaden was helping carrying into the room. She had him lay him down on one of the beds and got a second shock when she saw how similar the mystery boy looked to Jaden. She pushed those thoughts aside and did her examination.

Jaden stayed there through the whole thing, afraid to leave his brother alone with anyone even if it was with a nurse. "Is he going to be okay?" He asked, afraid of the answer.

The nurse turned to him, "He'll be fine. What he needs now is rest and some nourishment."

Jaden sighed in relief. "But Jaden, you need to tell me who he is and what's going on." she said, sternly.

Jaden looked at the floor, afraid he would fall apart again if he started talking. "Could I explain things later? Right now, I want to stay with my brother," He said, not realizing what he had just said.

Fontaine was shocked to hear that this was his brother and wanted to press for more information, but after seeing the uncomfortable look in Jaden's eyes she decided against it.

She sighed. "Alright, you can stay with him, but only if you promise me to tell me everything at some point, because I'm going to have to tell the Chancellor about this."

Jaden was surprised by the fact he was being allowed to stay, but nodded. He then sat down in a chair next to Kaizen's head and soon fell asleep.

Meanwhile, the nurse sat down at her computer and looked up Jaden's file. When she went to the part that listed immediate family, she noticed another name besides the names of his mother and father. Kaizen Skylar Yuki.

When she clicked on the name, Kaizen's medical file along with an incomplete Duel Academy application. She also saw another link attached to the name. She clicked on it and an old newspaper article came up. The more she read the article, the more shocked she became.

She took one last look at the boys, her heart clenching at what they went through, and then left for Chancellor Sheppard's office.

_Early Sunday Morning_

It was early on Sunday morning, the sun hadn't come up yet and it was really foggy out. You would think that no one would be up at this hour, but someone was. That someone was a male with blue hair that reached his shoulder wearing an Obelisk uniform that was more white than blue. His name was Zane Truesdale, the top ranked duelist at the academy. He was just standing by the lighthouse, staring out at the sea.

Around this time Alexis Rhodes was also up at this hour and was walking on the docks toward the lighthouse when she saw Zane standing there. "Zane?" she called out. The older male didn't turn toward her, but he knew who it was. "What are you doing out here?"

"Nothing. Just felt like being alone." He replied in a gruff, neutral voice.

Alexis came and stood next to him. "You know, when your little brother enrolled here, I thought won't to be alone less, not more."

"That's because he doesn't belong here." He stated bluntly.

_About two hours later_

A truck filled with soldiers pulled up to the Slifer dorm. The men started to climb the stairs, when Professor Banner, along with Pharoah, exited his room on the ground level.

"Aren't you boys a little old to be playing war games?" He wondered out loud, because he was still half asleep. "Really guys, how about a nice quiet game of charades?"

When he finally saw what was going on, he was then wide awake. "Oh no, it's the Disciplinary Action Squad! They only show up when a student is in serious trouble, and they're heading right for Jaden's room!"

Inside the room in question, Syrus and Chumley were still asleep because it was a free day. Jaden was in the infirmary with his brother, having been given permission from the nurse to stay with his brother.

Unfortunately, sleep was cut short by a forceful knock on the door stirring the occupants. "Open this door! Open this door right now or we'll break it down!"

Chumley was the first to speak. Yawning, "You and what army?"

"The Disciplinary Action Squad Army!"

That got them fully awake. "Disciplinary Action Squad!" Chumley shouted.

Syrus got down from the middle bunk and opened the door. He was startled and terrified to find a group of people in dark uniforms standing outside his dorm room. Most were men, except for the leader who was a woman.

She looked Syrus over, "You must be Syrus Truesdale…"

"Um… yes?"

She looked over his shoulder and frowned when she noticed the other they were sent to get wasn't there. "Where is Jaden Yuki?" she asked.

Syrus tensed at this. "Uh…he's in the infirmary…"

The woman looked at him. "You and Jaden are under campus arrest!"

"Arrest?" Syrus cried, "What for?"

"That will be made clear at the interrogation," she informed him, "Now get dressed!"

_Infirmary_

Jaden was asleep in the chair next to the bed where his brother was sleeping. His brother had been sleeping since yesterday, only waking up a few times but then falling back to sleep. It seemed to take what little energy he had just to open his eyes. It took some doing but he convinced Nurse Fontaine to let him stay the night with Kaizen.

Alexis had just entered and smiled sadly at the two brothers. She understood Jaden's pain, and was actually kind of jealous that he got his brother back first. She headed over to the boys and got a better look at the mysterious Yuki brother. Even though they were almost identical in looks, she could tell that Kaizen was probably the more serious of the two. She also had to admit that Kaizen was kinda handsome.

She turned when she heard the door open and saw the nurse enter. "How is he, Nurse Fontaine?" she asked the older woman.

The brunette doctor just sighed, "I'm afraid his condition hasn't changed yet. Still, he's in stable condition. I estimate that he should wake up by the end of the day, if not sooner."

"That's good to hear," said a sleepy voice. The ladies turned to see that Jaden had woken up.

"Now how are _you_ feeling, Jaden?" Alexis asked the Slifer brunette.

"I've had better sleep, if that's what you mean." he responded.

Alexis laughed at that. But before anyone could say anything else, the DASA leader and three of her men stormed into the room startling the people in there.

"What is the meaning of this?" Nurse Fontaine demanded, but she was ignored.

Instead, the commander turned her attention to Jaden. "Jaden Yuki, you are hereby placed under campus arrest!"

"What?! What did I do?!" asked Jaden, incredulously.

"That will be made clear in the interrogation," The commander said, firmly, "Now, let's go."

"No!" Jaden snapped, surprising everyone. No one thought he was capable of it. "I'm not leaving my brother!"

That took the campus police by surprise. Like the nurse, the knowledge that Jaden had a brother was unknown to them.

"Jaden," Alexis spoke calmly, like a mother would an upset child, "It's okay. I'll watch your brother. He'll be okay."

Jaden looked at her for a moment and hesitated. True, he trusted Alexis, but he was afraid to leave his brother's side. With an encouraging smile from both Alexis and Nurse Fontaine, Jaden nodded and left with the DAS.

_Interrogation Room_

When Jaden arrived at the interrogation room, he was joined by Syrus, who was really freaked out. Before either could speak, the six large screens turned on, each showing a different person. Three of them were Dr. Crowler, Chancellor Sheppard, and the woman from the DAS. They were not only told what they were here for, they were also told what was going to happen because of it.

"What?! Suspension?!" They cried at the same time.

"That's what I suggest," the commander said, "You two trespassed in the Abandoned Dorm, an anonymous letter from one of the faculty confirms it. You two must be punished to set an example for the other students! Not to mention we still have questions about the boy in the infirmary who's clearly not a student!"

Jaden flinched at that.

"But what kind of example are we setting, that we're a bunch of hard-hearted tyrants?" Crowler jumped in. "I say we arrange something a bit more sporting…"

"Sporting?" Jaden asked getting suspicious. "What do you mean?"

"Well Jaden, off the top of my head… how about you and Syrus team up in a tag duel?" Crowler suggested, "Win and you're off the hook… lose, and you're both expelled?"

"A tag-duel?" Jaden smiled at the thought. "That sounds sweet!"

Syrus turned to him, his face saying he didn't like this idea, "B-but Jaden, he said we'd get expelled!" he whimpered.

"Chancellor, I believe they have accepted the conditions?" Crowler asked Shephard.

Sheppard nodded. "Very well… I'll arrange some opponents."

"Oh no, Chancellor," Crowler cut in, looking back at the two Slifers. "Don't worry yourself! Leave that to me."

"What about the other boy?" the commander pressed.

"Well, I say we interrogate him when he wakes up and and then send him back to wherever he came from." Crowler said like it was so simple.

Jaden went rigid at that. He didn't want to be separated from his brother again. Thankfully, Sheppard saw the change in mood in the brunette.

"That's enough, Dr. Crowler," Sheppard said sternly, making Crowler shut up. He then turned his attention to Jaden. "Jaden, I'm aware of your connection to the boy as well as what happened a few months before the start of the year."

Jaden looked at the chancellor, surprised that anyone knew. "With this in mind, I want to hear the events from you before I make a final decision." he finished kindly, knowing Jaden's state of mind about the situation. He didn't want to reopen any scars that had healed, if any.

Jaden sighed, trying to get himself together. "Yes, sir." With all eyes on him, Jaden told his story, starting from the kidnapping, to learning of the Abandoned Dorm, to having to duel his former kidnapper, and finally, getting Kaizen back.

After that, everyone was in stunned silence, even Crowler, who was now feeling guilty about what he had done. While he didn't like Jaden, he would have never hired Titan to do the job if he had known of the history between the two. But he couldn't change his decision now or he would look suspicious. Syrus just put his hand on his best friend's shoulder, who looked like he was about to start crying all over again.

"I see," Shephard said, being the first to break the silence, "Given the turn of events, I have decided that once Kaizen recovers, he will duel one of our students and how he performs will determine what dorm he will be placed in. For now, we shall enroll him as an exchange student staying in Slifer Red. I shall inform Professor Banner to make living arrangements and have Ms. Dorothy see if we have any spare Slifer uniforms on hand. Jaden, when this is over, I ask that you go get that along with your brother's new school PDA and duel disk. Are we all in agreement?"

Everyone agreed, even Crowler, though he wasn't too excited about having another Yuki at the school, especially if he was anything like his brother, the last thing he wanted was another slacker in the school. "Very well, I believe we are done here." With that, the screens went dark and the boys were allowed to go.

_Infirmary_

Alexis was still by Kaizen's side as he slept when Jaden came back with Kaizen's new uniform and school stuff to drop off before heading back to his room to work on his deck. He told Alexis what was happening and she was horrified, because she had seen Syrus duel and he had a lot of kinks in his form. Jaden told her not to worry and headed to his dorm after asking Alexis to keep an eye on his brother for a little longer.

But after he left, Alexis asked the nurse if she could watch him instead so she could go talk to the chancellor and left. Not even five minutes after she left for the main office, Nurse Fontaine heard a noise like a moan come from where Kaizen was resting and was shocked to see him coming around. "Oh my! You're awake!"

Kaizen groaned before he fully opened his eyes. He looked around and saw almost all white around him and noticed he was laying in a hospital bed. With a bit of difficulty, he sat up slightly, "Where am I?" he asked in a voice that was hoarse from disuse.

"You're in the infirmary at Duel Academy." At the sound of the voice, he turned to see the nurse walk over to him to check his physicals and vitals. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"The last thing I remember was pain and, then this numbing, cold feeling. I think I was dueling someone...I think he called himself a shadow duelist…" he answered with a strained look on his face.

Then Kai got a wide eyed look. "Jaden! Where's my brother?! Is he okay?!" he asked in a panicked tone.

"Calm down, it's okay." she said, in a soothing manner. "You're brother's okay. The incident happened a few months ago. That man's gone and your brother's safe. It's all over."

Kaizen sighed in relief, even though he was slightly unnerved by the fact he was trapped in the Shadow Realm for that long, then something she said finally registered in his brain, "Wait a minute, did you say I'm at Duel Academy?" he asked, with an excited smile growing on his face.

"Yes, she did," came a third voice from the entrance. The first two occupants of the room looked to see Professor Banner had entered the room with Pharaoh in his arms. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Kaizen. My name is Professor Lyman Banner, one of the teachers here at Duel Academy."

"Wow," Kaizen breathed, "How did I get here?"

"Your brother and his roommates found you unconscious in the Abandoned Dorm." Nurse Fontaine answered. "I'm surprised you're awake after a short time."

"Unfortunately, finding you may cost them being students here." Banner mentioned, uneasily.

"What do you mean?" Kaizen asked, suspiciously.

With a sigh, the professor told them about the trouble Jaden and Syrus were in and the upcoming tag duels that would decide their futures. Kaizen was startled, guilty, and slightly annoyed with his brother for getting himself into this kind of trouble.

"But, that also leads me to my next order of business," Banner said, getting Kaizen's attention. "Since you planned to become a student here before the accident, the chancellor decided to let you enroll anyway."

Both adults got a smile on their faces when they saw the older Yuki's face light up. "We won't be able to make anything official until the nurse gives you the ok to duel, so until she does you'll be listed as an exchange student in the Slifer dorm. The chancellor also wants to see you to give you more information. Now," Banner then turned and gestured to the box left on one of the beds, "Here is your uniform and school PDA. When you change, I'll take you to the main office."

Kaizen nodded, got up, and took the box into the bathroom. He came back out wearing the same shirt and jeans with the Slifer jacket and he had traded his hiking boots in for the uniform shoes. "Alright, let's go!"

_Chancellor's Office_

Meanwhile, the chancellor got an unexpected visitor in the form of Chumley, who went there after hearing about the conditions Jaden and Syrus were placed in. "You wanted to see me, Chumley?"

The older Slifer looked ready to back down, but he screwed up enough courage to tell the Chancellor what's up, "Yeah. Look I just wanted to say that I...I was in the Abandoned Dorm too! And that...I should be the one to duel with Jaden!"

"No, it should be me." Chumley turned to see Alexis walk up to the desk walk in, the door closing behind her. Chancellor Sheppard was surprised by this, since he was not expecting her.

"Listen chancellor, they were at the dorm helping me." Alexis said as she stepped in front of the desk.

"That's totally bogus, Alexis." Chumley interjected. "I led them there because I wanted to check out it's...abandoned cafeteria."

"Fat chance, Chumley," Alexis said. "Please Chancellor, let _me_ be Jaden's partner."

"I'm glad to see that my brother has some real good friends." came a new voice from the the door. The three turned to see Professor Banner and a now awake Kai standing in the doorway.

"I brought Mr. Yuki as you requested, Chancellor." Professor Banner spoke up.

"Thank you, Banner. I'll take it from here." Banner nodded, but stayed in the room in case he was needed.

Sheppard then turned to Kaizen. "Well, no need to just stand in the doorway Kaizen. You may come up here."

Kaizen nodded, suddenly feeling unusually shy for some reason. He's always been good with other people, but seeing has how he had just spent the last few months in a place that not even his worst nightmares could come up with, one could understand why he would be nervous. When he stood in front of the chancellor's desk, he began to feel more at ease with two others there.

"Hi, my name's Kaizen Yuki, but everyone just calls me Kai." he introduced himself to his brother's friends.

"Yeah, we heard about you from Jaden," The large boy who reminded Kaizen weirdly of a koala, said, smiling at him. "I'm Chumley. Your brother and I are roommates."

"Nice to meet you." Kai answered, shaking his hand.

"And I'm Alexis." added the girl beside him.

He turned to shake her hand, but when he looked at her directly, his voice caught in his throat. He wasn't sure what it was, but this person had a certain simplistic beauty to her, she wasn't over the top gorgeous but not completely plain either.

"It's nice to meet you, Kai." Her words managed to bring him back to reality.

"It's nice to meet you all." Kai said, smiling. Then he turned to the chancellor and turned serious. "So what kind of trouble has my brother gotten himself into this time?"

Sheppard smiled, glad the boys had such good friends, and that Jaden had such a caring brother. However, he still had to keep some authority. "Look, I know the stakes are high, but the decision is final. Syrus will be Jaden's tag partner. I'm sure they'll be fine."

Chumley and Alexis just looked at each other, both knowing this wasn't going to be easy for Syrus. Kaizen was about to ask what the looks were about when Sheppard directed his attention at him. "Now, Kaizen, I understand that you were planning to enroll here along with your brother before the um… incidente happened. For this reason, I have decided that for right now, you'll be in the Slifer Red dorm as an exchange student until you're well enough to duel. Then, I'll have one of our students duel you, and depending on how you duel, will determine what dorm you're placed in as an official student. Sound good?"

Kaizen was stunned that he was being offered a chance, but smiled and nodded. "Yes, thank you sir."

Alexis and Chumley were equally happy about this and knew Jaden would be happy too.

"Alright," said Sheppard, turning back to Banner. "I take it that rooming has been taken care of."

"Yes, sir," Banner nodded. "I figured given the circumstances, Kaizen might feel more comfortable staying in Jaden's room, being near someone familiar."

Sheppard nodded in agreement. "Very well. Kaizen, we shall have you room with your brother until further notice. Sound good?"

Kaizen nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sir. Now if you'll all excuse me, I must go lecture my brother about doing stupid things while shaking my finger in a disapproving manner."

Everyone burst out laughing at this one.

"Come on, Kai, I'll show you the way to the dorm." Chumley said, getting over his laughter.

Kai nodded and followed Chumley out of the office. Everyone was thinking the same thing, the year was about to get _doubly_ interesting.

_Slifer Dorm_

The boys had arrived at the dorm, and to Chumley's surprise Kaizen liked it. "It looks like the motels you see in the action movies right before the fugitive makes a run for it."

The boys kept talking as they entered their room, but were interrupted by a short, distraught bluenette. "Did he say yes?!"

They had just barely entered the room before a short bluenette with glasses, who Kaizen didn't know, latched onto Chumley with a worried look on his face. "Please tell me he said yes! If I'm Jaden's partner I'll get us both expelled!"

Chumley remembered what he'd been doing in the office before Kai walked in and he sobered up. "I _tried_ Syrus!" He said. "I even lied and said I was the one who led you guys to the dorm!"

"Well, you _did_ lead us to it's cafeteria…" Jaden offered as he sat at his desk, going through his desk.

"Typical you, you always try to make light of the situation." Kaizen noted, walking into the room a bit to look around.

Jaden turned at the sound of his brother's voice and was surprised to see him standing there. Then, just almost out of nowhere, Jaden dropped what he was doing and tackled his brother in a hug, almost making them both fall down. "Whoa, easy Jaden! Man, I forgot how strong you actually are!"

Kaizen was going to say more but then he felt Jaden start trembling slightly against him. "It's okay bro, don't cry." He said gently, returning the hug.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" Jaden sobbed lightly.

The other two boys in the room weren't sure whether to leave or not, to give the brothers some privacy.

"I'm back now, little brother," Kai said, soothingly to his brother. "And I promise I'll never leave you again."

After a few more minutes of crying, Jaden took a shuddery breath and stepped back to look at his brother, his usual smile back on his face. "I missed you, Kai." He said one more time, before remembering something.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I kept this safe for you." He reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled out a card, handing it to Kai. Kaizen looked at the card and smiled at the familiar blond magician girl, whose spirit appeared next to him.

"_Welcome back, master Kai!"_ DMG cheered, happy to be back with her duelist.

Kai smiled at her, before turning to his brother with a serious face. "Alright, so what happened while I was gone?" He asked, wanting to hear the story from Jaden.

After hearing the story again, Kaizen wasn't sure whether to be happy that Jaden never stopped looking for him or whether to be annoyed that Jaden would do something this reckless. Kaizen just sighed. "Are sure you're going to be okay?"

"Don't worry, Sy and I can handle this!" Jaden said, back to being upbeat and happy like before.

Syrus chimed in at that. "How can you be so calm about this Jaden? Aren't you scared that I'm going to get us kicked out?"

Jaden looked at Syrus and shook his head, "Nah, I wouldn't have any other partner!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Syrus cried.

"High strung little fella, ain't he?" Kaizen cracked with a wry smile.

Jaden playfully smacked him on the shoulder with a laugh. Jaden then focused his attention back on Syrus, "Look, Syrus, we're going to go in there, duel our hardest, and win the match. Know why?"

"Not really…" Syrus said, unsure.

"Cause you and I are going to work out our kinks right now. So grab your deck, cause we're gonna duel!" Jaden exclaimed, always excited.

"Uh…" Syrus just stood there for a moment, then what he said had sunk in, "W-What?!"

_Later, outside by the ocean_

Chumley and Kaizen stood up on the cliff side, while Syrus and Jaden stood on the outcove down below them. Syrus was nervous, but Jaden was all smiles and excitement at the idea of a duel. Kaizen just smiled, knowing his brother's tactic at helping struggling duelists, and it was very different from his method.

"Ok guys, remember this is just practice for your upcoming tag match, so go easy!" Chumley called down to them.

"Slight problem, Chumley, my brother doesn't know how to go easy." Kai said.

"That's probably a good thing." Chumley and Kaizen turned to see Alexis walking toward them.

"What do you mean?" Chumley asked.

"It means I know Dr. Crowler and he's not going to put them up against a couple of pushovers," Alexis said. "Both Jaden and Syrus will have to be at their best, because if they're not, they could both be expelled."

"Alright Syrus," Jaden said, inserting his deck. "Get your game on! Let's have some fun!"

"Yeah…fun," Syrus muttered. "Might as well before we get kicked out of here."

"What was that, Sy?" Jaden asked, not quite catching that.

Syrus jumped, "Uh…nothing."

"Then, let's duel!" Jaden exclaimed, back on his one track mind for dueling.

"Yeah, yeah…let's duel." Syrus said, sighing.

Jaden: 4000

Syrus: 4000

Jaden drew his hand. "Here I come, Syrus," he drew his card and looked at his hand.

'_Sweet,'_ Jaden thought, already having a plan. "I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode."

A green winged warrior appeared in front of him (1000/1000). "Then I'll throw down a face-down and end my turn! Your go!"

Syrus drew his card. "Let's see…" He looked at the card he had just drawn and smiled. '_Hey! My Patroid has enough power to take out Jaden's Avian!'_

"Hey, Syrus, what's that smile for?" Jaden called over to him. "You get something good?"

Panicking, Syrus answered, "Uh… yeah, I think so. I summon Patroid in attack mode!" He declared as his monster appeared. It looked like a police card from kid show, complete with big eyes, a police hat on the roof, and its wheels sticking out like arms and legs (1200/1200).

"Now attack, with Siren Smasher!" Patroid sped towards Avian, its sirens blaring and lights flashing.

"Not so fast, Syrus! I play a trap, Negate Attack!" Jaden declared, activating his card. The trap unleashed a strange vortex that forced Patroid back, away from Avian, keeping the winged hero safe for the time being.

"Aw man," Syrus moaned. "I should've known your face-down was a trap."

"Duh…Syrus walked right into that one." Chumley muttered.

"This is bad," Alexis noted, solemnly. "They'll never make it through the tag duel if Syrus keeps playing like this."

Kaizen kept staring at the duel, analyzing all the moves made, seeing where all the strategies were aimed and where they were going. He could already see Syrus had no real plan, which was a problem, but he could also see a lot of potential in him and that all he seriously lacked was the confidence.

"Doncha ya think dirt is just the greatest thing, Jay?" Syrus asked, since he was crouched down and making designs in the dirt.

"Sy! Don't quite in me now! You just made a mistake, that's all!" Jaden said.

Syrus rose to his feet. "Yeah, the mistake of coming to this school…"

Jaden disagreed. "No, Sy, you just forgot about Patroid's special ability. Once per turn, he lets you check out one of your face-down cards. You could've seen my trap and played something to stop it." He explained.

"Yeah, I know I'm no good," Syrus looked away. "I don't belong here."

"Whoa, hold on! I didn't mean anything like that!" Jaden jumped, trying to reassure his friend.

Syrus lowered his head. "I know you didn't mean anything by that, Jaden. It's just that…"

Jaden stopped him. "No, you're right. I shouldn't butt in. We're opponents right now and from now on, we should act like it! And now it's my turn!" He drew his card.

"I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!" A warrior in blue and gold armor appeared next to Avian, sparks flying out everywhere (1600/1400).

"And now I'll have Sparkman attack Patroid!" Syrus watched as Sparkman created a spear of lightning and threw it at Patroid. Patroid let out a strange siren sound and then exploded.

Jaden: 4000

Syrus: 3600

"And now, Avian, attack Sy directly!" Jaden declared. "Windstorm Strike!"

Avian lept into the air and beat his wings hard, creating a gust of wind that knocked Syrus clear off his feet.

Jaden: 4000

Syrus: 2600

"Last, I'll lay a card face-down and end my turn." Jade concluded as Avian came back to his field.

Syrus sat up, smiling for some odd reason. "Can I crack up now? I just got nailed on both our turns! I can't win!"

"Of course you can win, Syrus!" Alexis called down to him. "You just have to believe in yourself!"

"Yeah, Sy!" Kai added. "Your machines have some pretty powerful abilities, you just need to learn how to utilize them!"

"They're right, Sy! Don't give up! I mean, duh, that's the first thing they teach you in Freshman Dueling class! I should know! I had to take it twice!" Chumley shouted.

"Huh?!" Kaizen asked, looking at the koala boy wondering just what year he was in.

Syrus thought the words over, and then looked at his deck. "He's right. I'm not just dueling for myself, I'm dueling for Jaden too!" He pushed himself from the dirt. "It's time I started acting like it."

"Come on, Syrus, you can do this!" Alexis shouted.

Chumley nodded. "Yeah, go for it Syrus! You just gotta believe in yourself! Duh!"

"You've got people up here who want to see this play out!" Kai added, having settled down on the grass with his legs dangling over the side of the ledge.

Alexis giggled and looked at the boys. "You know, you two are really good with words of encouragement."

"Thanks!" Kaizen smiled. "Lots of practice from when I was helping Jaden learn to duel."

Alexis was surprised. Jaden's brother taught him how to duel? She started wondering just how good Kaizen really was.

Chumley was surprised by the comment and the information, but he smiled slightly. "Thanks, I got all kinds of books on self-esteem and self-confidence. For some reason my dad getting them for me."

"Yeah, I wonder why…" Alexis said, still half in her thoughts. "Well thanks to you, Syrus is back to playing in the duel instead of playing in the dirt."

Alexis then looked back down at her two friends. "The only question now is how well will he play from here on out…"

"Alright…here goes nothing…" Syrus drew his next card and looked down at his hand. '_I don't have anything in my hand that could take down Avian or Sparkman. I'll have to go with a different strategy.'_

"I play the spell card Pot of Greed! This lets me draw 2 new cards from my deck!" Syrus drew two new cards.

'_Huh?!'_ Syrus stared at the cards he just drew. One was Polymerization and the other card was…'_Power Bond?!'_

'_Judging from Syrus' face he must have drawn a sweet card!' _Jaden thought as he watched his friend stare at his cards.

"Power Bond's like Polymerization only better." Syrus whispered to himself. "If I summon a Machine type fusion monster, it's attack points will double!"

His shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes. "Oh well, I'm not good enough to play a card this strong…at least not according to my brother…"

_Flashback_

"_I'll never forget that day. It was back in grade school and I was dueling this really mean bully. It was my big chance to stand up to him, my big chance to show him that I wouldn't be pushed around anymore."_

_Syrus: 1600_

_Bully: 1900_

_A younger Syrus was a facing a bigger bully at the school playground. The bully only had a face down while Syrus had nothing._

_"Alright, you're going down!" Syrus drew his next card and smiled, very happy with his luck. _

_'Awesome, Power Bond! The card my brother gave me! I'll win for sure now!' He looked up at the bully, smiling._

"_Quit stalling, ya pip-squeak! You're gonna lose, so let's just get it over with!" The bully shouted._

"_That's what you think!" Syrus said confidently. "This duel's mine!"_

"_Yeah, right!" The bully snapped back. "The only thing you're gonna get is a serious butt kicking!"_

_Syrus laughed at him. "Sorry, but I'm not scared of your nasty threats! Ya hear that? I'm not afraid of you anymore! You know why?"_

_He raised his card high, ready to play it. "'Cause I'm the one who's gonna take you down!"_

"_STOP!" A voice shouted from behind them._

_Syrus stopped in the middle of his movement, which caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. "Hey, who said that?!"_

_A taller, older boy in a blue school uniform walked by with his dark blue hair swaying behind him. "Zane?!"_

_His older brother walked up to the bully and held up a card. "This duel never happened, understand? Just take the card and go."_

_The bully looked at the card and laughed. "Nice card. You've got yourself a deal!" He swiped the card from Zane's hand and walked away._

"_What're you doing Zane?!" Syrus demanded, picking himself up. "I was about to win this duel with the card you gave me!"_

_Zane didn't turn around to face his brother. "No you weren't Syrus, and if I would never have given you that card if I had known you were going to misplay it!" he snapped._

"_Misplay? What're you talking about? I wasn't gonna misplay it!" Syrus defended._

"_Yes you were!" Zane countered, holding up a card. "This was the face down card the kid had on the field!"_

_Syrus peered at the trap card and instantly recognized it. "Spellbinding Circle!"_

"_Exactly! When this trap is sprung, the monster attacking is forced to stop its attack and it can't change battle positions," Zane explained. "So you would've attacked using a monster you summoned with Power Bond, and it's attack points would have doubled! But Spellbinding Circle would have prevented you from attacking and you would have lost the rest of your life points from using Power Bond!"_

_He was right and Syrus knew it. "You weren't thinking Syrus, you didn't take into account the face down card or Power Bond's cost effect! Sure you may know how to use it, but there's more to dueling than just that!"_

_Present_

"Just holding this card gives me the chills," Syrus muttered, still staring that the card in his hand. "And what he mean by there's more to dueling than just playing a card?"

Kaizen looked over at Syrus' hand and saw the cards he needed to win. '_Looks like Jaden's about to have his first lose in a long time.'_

'_Judging by that look, Syrus must have drawn some pretty sweets cards.' _Jaden thought. "Hey! You alright over there Sy?"

Syrus snapped out of his trance and looked at Jaden. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine." He put Power Bond in his hand and used a different card. "I play the spell card Polymerization! I fuse the Gyroid and Steamroid in my hand to create Steam Gyroid!"

'_What the heck is he doing?!'_ Kaizen thought, scowling as he watched the scene unfold.

A swirling vortex opened and two cartoon like vehicles appeared on the field, one looked like a helicopter and the other looked like a train. Both were sucked into the vortex and out came a monster with Steamroid's body and Gyroid's propellers. This must be Steam Gyroid (2400/1500).

"Alright, Steam Gyroid, it's time to go loco-motive!" Syrus commanded. "Attack! Train Twister!"

Steam Gyroid rotated his fans fast, creating a wind funnel that shot upward and then curved and slammed into Avian. The winged hero struggled for a few minutes before hearing a loud whistling sound. Steam Gyroid raced through the funnel and slammed into Avian, destroying him.

Jaden: 2800

Syrus: 2600

"Gotcha!" Syrus cheered. "Had enough practice, Jaden?"

Jaden shook for a moment before they realized he was laughing. "Have I had enough? No way, Sy! You know the old saying 'no pain, no gain', and with what I've got plan your going to feel a lot!"

He drew his next card. "You and I aren't just friends anymore Syrus, we're rivals, and I have the cards to treat you like one!"

He graded a couple of cards from his hand. "Brace yourself, Sy! I play the spell card, Polymerization! I fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Sparkman!"

As he said that, a large, clay hero on the field and rose into the air with Sparkman. In the air, a large mass of storm clouds with thunder and lightning had gathered where the two heroes had disappeared. Soon, a huge figure began to descend from the sky, trailing clouds as it fell. "Here he is, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" (2400/1500)

Kaizen heard a cat behind them. He turned to a fat, brown tabby walking away from them.

"That cat's got the right idea." Alexis muttered, glancing back as well.

"Oh c'mon, it's just another monster." Chumley dismissed.

"No it's not Chumley," She said, grimly. "Thunder Giant can destroy a monster per turn as long as it's original attack points are less than his own. Looks like practice is getting out early for Syrus."

'_You know it,' _Kaizen added in his head. '_And it wouldn't have happened if Syrus had gone with the other card he'd drawn.'_

"Ok Thunder Giant, take out Steam Gyroid!" Jaden commanded his fusion monster.

Thunder Giant roared and raised his finger to the sky, using it like a lightning rod. A bolt struck and he redirected it at the sky. A minute later, a shower of bright needles rained down on Steam Gyroid. It let out a whistle before being destroyed.

Syrus lowered his arm as the smoke cleared. "Aw man, that leaves me defenseless." He muttered.

"Yeah, it does!" Jaden placed another card on his duel disk.

"I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in attack mode!" A pale, red clad heroine appeared and flew around Thunder Giant a few times before floating in the air (1200/800)

"Now, double attack!" He ordered. "Thunder Giant, Voltic Thunder!"

Syrus cried out as he was struck by lightning.

Jaden: 2800

Syrus: 200

"Now, Burstinatrix, Flare Storm!" The heroine's hands were engulfed with red hot flames, that she pressed together to create a large fireball that she then launched straight at Syrus.

Syrus backed away as the holographic flames raged towards him, before crying out as he was knocked down and the rest of his life points were lost.

Jaden: 2800

Syrus: 0

"That's game!" Jaden said, giving his two finger salute. "Pretty sweet duel, Syrus!"

Syrus sat up as his friend approached. "I dunno, Jaden. I didn't put up too much of a fight."

"What're you talking about?" Jaden stopped a few inches in front of Syrus. "Sure I was able to pull it out in the end, but pulled off some pretty sweet moves too, you should be proud. Although, I am wondering something, what was that one card you drew but didn't play?"

Before Syrus could stop him, he bent down and took the card his brother had given him. His eyes widened at what he saw. "Power Bond?! Syrus why didn't you play it? Steam Gyroid's attack points would have doubled, you would have had one tough monster."

He then blinked when a thought came to him. "On second thought for my sake, I'm glad you didn't."

"You don't understand," Syrus muttered as he snatched the card back. "My brother says I'm not good enough for this card and it's obvious he's right."

"Syrus…" Jaden tried to tell him he was wrong, but he didn't get the chance.

"It's also obvious that you'll never win the tag duel with me as your partner." Syrus finished before running off.

"Hey, Syrus! Wait!" Jaden called after him, but the little Slifer just kept running.

"Syrus!" Chumley called, running after him.

Alexis and Kaizen were left there alone, the duel still fresh in their minds.

About an hour later, after going to help Chumley look for Syrus, Alexis came back to the duel site. The waves were crashing against the shore as she walked up to the Yuki brothers, who were staring out at the water.

"I guess practice doesn't always make perfect, at least not with Syrus it doesn't." Alexis spoke, trying to ease the tension in the air.

Jaden's frown deepened. "I don't get it. Syrus is a great guy, I just wish he'd see what I see. That the only thing holding him back is himself. I mean, he had this awesome card all ready to use but he doesn't. Why? Because some brother told him not to."

"Not a very good brother if you ask me." Kai added.

Alexis just looked at the boys, her eyes wide at what she just heard.

Jaden was the first to notice this. "What is it Alexis?"

Alexis frowned slightly. "Well, that brother of his goes to this school. You've probably heard of him too."

"I haven't, but then again I was trapped in a place that could only exist in your nightmares for the past three months." Kaizen muttered, putting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, me neither, who're you talking about?" Jaden asked.

Alexis looked at the brothers. "Hello? Third year Obelisk Blue student and the best duelist in the school? He's the big man on campus! Zane! And he is as good as his reputation!"

"Well, Alexis," Jaden turned back to the waves. "It doesn't sound like he's very good to his younger brother. I wonder what happened between them…"

"Jaden, don't pry." Alexis warned him.

Jaden grinned. "Oh, I'm not going to pry, I'm going to duel!" He looked at the two people next to him. "I'm gonna duel him and find out what's going on."

"Jaden, you're not listening! No one duels Zane!" Alexis protested, trying to talk him out of it.

"What is he supposed to be untouchable?" Kaizen asked.

"They do when their tag partner isn't dueling up to snuff because of him." Jaden shot back. "Besides, I want to see how I stack up against this guy." He said, grinning.

'_Well, he's not going to listen to me,'_ Alexis smiled. "Good luck, Jaden."

"Go get him, Little Bro." Kai said. '_While you take the brother angle, I'll take a crack at Syrus myself.'_

Jaden threw his fist in the air. "Get ready, Zane! I'm coming for you!"

**And that is that. Read and review and see you next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, I'm back and with round 4.**

**Sakura: Now we get to see Kai's probably only flaw…**

**Michael: What's that?**

**Sakura: Shotgun big brotherism**

**Wilma: What's that mean?**

**You'll find out~. Anyway, Nicholas, do the disclaimer please.**

**Nicholas: Wolf don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX. She only owns her OC's and any cards she makes up.**

**Crystal: Here we go, chapter start**

Chapter 4: Bond of Brothers

Kaizen was exploring the main building of the school as well as looking for his brother. When he had gotten up that morning, he had noticed that Jaden was gone. Knowing his brother, there were only two reasons Jaden got up early without a bucket of ice water. One, he had either not slept at all or had barely slept the night before, or two, he was up to something. So he had gotten up and dressed and went looking for his brother to make sure he wasn't getting himself into trouble.

He came across his brother with a pouty look and annoyed. "What's the static, little bro?"

Jaden snapped out of his grumbling to see his brother there. "Nothing…" the hero duelist grumbled, not wanting to talk about it.

He continued walking, but then tripped on his own shoelaces, letting out a yelp as he fell. He would have fallen on his face if the orange eyed boy hadn't caught him.

"Careful, Jaden! Don't want you hurting yourself." Kai scolded lightly, steadying his brother.

"Right, sorry Kai…" Jay said sheepishly.

Kaizen then noticed something. He wasn't entirely sure, but it looked his brother had lost weight since he had last seen him. One scary thought came to mind.

"Jaden…have you been throwing up again?" He asked worriedly, looking his brother straight in the face. "It feels like you've lost weight."

"What? No!" was Jaden's shocked answered. He looked down at himself as if to make sure. "The weight just won't stick is all."

"Do the chancellor and the nurse know about your condition?" Kai asked, sounding like the overprotective brother he was.

"No, I don't want people to make a fuss over me!" Jaden answered, wishing his brother would just let it go.

"Make a fuss?" Kai asked his brother incredulously before turning serious, or somewhat. "The reason I fuss is because you don't take it seriously! The last time it started happening I could feel your ribs here!" He poked Jaden in the side, knowing where he was ticklish.

Jaden sputtered before laughing, trying to push his brother's hands away, but Kai was stronger than he was so that wasn't happening. "Stop tickling me!" He said inbetween laughs, turning to get away from his brother.

That was a mistake, since when his back was turned the older twin grabbed him in a hug and continued to tickle him. "Stop, Kai, I'm really ticklish!" His face was going red by this point and he was trying to push his brother's arms off.

Kai stopped so Jaden could breath but kept his arms around Jaden to keep him from running off. "Feel better?"

Jaden turned to him and smiled slightly. "Yeah, a little." He admitted. His brother always knew ways to make him feel better when he was unhappy.

Kai let go and moved in front of him and kneeled in front of him and began tying his brother's shoelaces like he was a kid. "Kai, you don't need to do that!" Jaden always got embarrassed when Kaizen treated him like a little kid.

"True, but I care about you so I'll do it anyway." Kai said to his younger twin with his usual grin. Jay just blushed and let his brother baby him.

After tying his shoe, he stood up straight and and looked at his brother with a look that left no room for argument. "Come on, let's walk and talk." That was Kai's method for getting Jaden to open up about his problems. They'd walk around with no particular destination in mind and Jaden would tell him what was up as they did.

The hero duelist sighed. "Okay."

They started walking and were soon out of the building and in the forest nearby as Jaden told him about his confrontation with Crowler.

"Well he sounds like a real jerk face." Kai said bluntly, though inside he was seething that someone, a teacher no less, was messing with his brother.

Before either of them could say anything they heard someone talking, and it sounded like Chumley. "Look, it's not you it's me. I'm sorry, but i can't use you in my deck anymore. I gotta make room for another koala…"

The brothers walked a little further and sure enough, they found Chumley. The koala boy was sitting on a tree branch, his deck spread out before him, and a Des Koala in his hand. "Fifteen ought to do it."

"Fifteen?" Kaizen asked, shocked. "Chumley, there are only two types of koalas!"

Chumley looked below him and saw the Yuki brothers down there for the first time. "What do you know? Koala's rule!"

"Not if you have more than three of each." Kai deadpanned.

"They do too!" Chumley scowled. He was going to say something else, but then slipped off the branch and ended up clinging to the branch for dear life…upside down like the koalas he loved so much.

Meanwhile some of his cards ended up falling to the forest floor. Jaden just smiled, his brother always told things as they were and didn't sugar coat it. He bent down to help pick up his friend's cards and he couldn't help but laugh at what he saw. "Wow Chumley, there's like…a zillion koalas down here!"

Chumley smiled. "Yeah, koalas so rule…hey you want to have a pick-up duel against them?"

"I wouldn't," Kaizen said. "Your deck doesn't have the requirements of three of the same monster."

"Hey, a pick up duel…" Jaden thought of something, ignoring his brother's comment. "Why didn't I think of that? Thanks Chumley!" He then took off in another direction.

"Where are you going?" Kaizen yelled.

"The Obelisk Blue dorm!" Jaden yelled without looking back.

Chumley couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why're you heading there?!"

"A pick-up duel! With Zane!"

"_The_ Zane?!" That caused Chumley to let go of the tree and fall…on top of Kaizen.

"Get…off…me!" Kaizen cried in a muffled voice.

"Oh, sorry." Chumley apologized, getting off.

Kaizen gasped several times trying to get his breath back. "Which way…did Jaden…run off?" He asked in between pants.

"That way." Chum pointed in the direction that Jaden had gone.

Kai pushed himself to his feet and headed in that direction.

_Obelisk Dorm_

When Kaizen got there, the first thing that caught his attention was how big the place was, it looked like a palace. The second thing that got his attention was laughter he heard coming from the front. There he saw his brother on the ground and wet with two Obelisk boys standing over him with one holding a bucket.

Kai put two and two together and snapped. The next thing either boy heard were footsteps rushing toward them. The Obelisk with the bucket looked up just in time to get punched in the face with enough force to knock him into the wall behind them.

"Dude, you alright?" The second Obelisk called, rushing to his friend.

Jaden blinked and then realized his brother was standing in front of him. The Obelisks glared over at the Slifers but stopped short when they saw the now ticked off twin standing there. You know those anime scenes where a person is angry and they have a dark aura around them and a look that can kill. That's what Kai looked like, only a thousand times scarier.

"If you ever hurt my brother again, I will have my revenge." The orange eyed Yuki said in a calm and deadly tone. His eyes also flashed purple for a moment but nobody saw that.

The Obelisks looked like they were about ready to wet themselves with how scared they looked and Jaden was surprised they were going to get away with just a punch. "Now scram!" The blue snobs didn't need to be told twice, they ran off leaving a cloud of smoke in their wake.

He turned back to his brother with a softer expression and kneeled down in front of him. "You okay, Jay?"

"Yeah…thanks, bro." Jaden said, still shaken at how his brother can go from caring to scary and then back again. Kaizen helped Jaden stand and they headed back to the Slifer dorm.

Jaden looked back at the dorm and made a silent vow. "We _will_ duel."

_Slifer Dorm_

Later, Kaizen, Jaden, and Chumley made their way to the dorm, Jaden drying off with a towel.

"So, what are you gonna do now?" Chumley asked.

Jaden was still drying his hair. "Well I tell you what I'm not going to do and that's give up. I'm gonna duel Zane one way or another."

"You _are_ good Jaden, but from what they say about this guy are you sure you're ready?" Kai asked, opening the door to their room.

The trio stepped in and before Jaden could reply, they noticed Syrus was still in bed wrapped up in his blankets.

"Is he still sleeping?" Kai asked, deadpanned.

"Aw Sy are you still in bed?" Jaden asked, now understanding Kai's irritation when _he_ stayed in bed when upset. "Look I know you're down but that's no excuse to act like a lazy slug. I mean even Chumley got up today."

"Yeah, lousy bladder!" Chumley muttered.

Kaizen heard that and looked at him weirdly.

Jaden snuck up to the bundle of sheets and pulled it back with a short laugh, only to find the bed empty. "Huh? Where'd he go?"

"Look, he left a note!" Chumley announced. He found it on the desk and Kai had moved to look over his shoulder at what it said.

"What's it say?" Jaden asked coming over to where they were standing.

Kaizen read it aloud. "Dear Jaden, I'm leaving Duel Academy. Don't try and stop me, it's for the best. I'd only be holding you back if I stayed."

Jaden snatched the note and crumpled it up. "Sy's not going anywhere!"

"Yeah, let's go stop him…after dinner." Chumley quickly added.

"Chumley!" The new Slifer scolded.

"No, now!" Jaden corrected, annoyed slightly.

"But today's grilled cheese day!" Chumley whined.

"So what?" Kai said. "You can make those anytime."

"If we don't hurry it'll be Sy's last day!" Jaden countered, dragging Chumley out the door.

"_Say, Master Kaizen, I saw Syrus making a raft by the water earlier while I was exploring the island."_ Dark Magician Girl piped up.

"Can you show me the way?" Kai asked his spirit companion.

"_Are you planning to pull the tough love act with him?"_ DMG asked.

"Yup." The older Yuki answered.

It was how he taught his brother to duel. He would throw his brother into a duel and just duel him, no coddling and no holding back. They didn't talk to each other from a brother's standpoint, but from duelist to duelist.

"_Then follow me!"_ Kai nodded and followed after the blond, female magician as she flew off.

_With Syrus_

While Jaden and Chumley were searching another area, Syrus was all ready to leave. Hidden in a small bay by the lighthouse, the small Slifer had already made a log raft and he was about to set sail.

"So long Duel Academy…" Syrus spoke sadly.

"Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?" Asked a voice from behind him.

Syrus jumped and turned to see Kai standing there. Dark Magician Girl landed behind him and disappeared.

"Kai? What are you doing here?" Syrus asked, wondering how the older Yuki had found him.

"Don't play dumb with me Syrus, that's my brother's job." Kai cracked with a wry smile before becoming serious. "I know what you're trying to do Syrus, and it won't help. You can't run from your problems forever."

"Want to bet?" Syrus said, depressed, turning away from him. "I'm a lost cause. If I leave, they'll assign Jaden a new tag partner, and then he'll have a much better chance of winning the match. Then you two won't have to be separated again."

Syrus was trying his best to hold back tears, but his voice cracked near the end of that last sentence. Kaizen heard it and he felt anger start to burn in him. How could a guy reduce his younger brother to this much of an insecure mess? Kai decided it was time to act.

Sy was so busy wallowing in self-pity that he didn't notice Kai coming up behind him until he felt the older Yuki grab the back of his jacket and pull him along behind him. "Hey, Kaizen, what are you doing?"

"We are going to duel." He answered in a voice that left no room for argument.

"What?!" Syrus cried as Kai dragged him away.

_With Jaden and Chumley_

"Syrus! Come on!" Jaden called searching an area not far from Kaizen found Syrus. Chumley was with him too, albite reluctantly.

"Sy! It's grilled cheese day!" Chumley called, like that was going to bring Sy to them.

"Where are you Syrus?!" The hero duelist called, running a ways down a path in the cliff face. Chumley following behind.

"We miss you Sy!" The koala duelist called, stopping to catch his breath. "And we'll miss dinner too, if we don't find you before the kitchen closes."

Jaden ran on ahead, stopping to look around like he had two minutes ago, when he turned to see that his deck case was glowing. Then he heard a familiar hooting sound by his shoulder and turned to see a familiar friend of his. "Oh, it's you."

Chumley huffed as he caught up with him. "So hungry, starting to hear voices."

Jaden watched as Kuriboh floated on ahead before stopping to turn back, as if telling Jaden to follow. "Can you find where Sy's at?" Kuriboh nodded. "Go."

Kuriboh took off, Jaden gesturing behind him to Chumley to hurry up. "C'mon!"

"Aw, first no grilled cheese, and now I gotta run? Aw, why me?" Chumley whined, but followed anyway.

_The Lighthouse_

Zane was standing at his usual spot by the lighthouse looking at the sunset. Hearing footsteps, he turned to see Alexis walk up to him. Zane turned back to the sunset as she came up to his side.

"So, any new leads?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I can't believe he's still gone. I keep looking for some sign, but it's like my brother just vanished into thin air."

"Don't give up. You'll find him." Zane comforted.

"I hope so. Speaking of brothers, Zane," Alexis mentioned, looking at the older boy. "I saw yours the other day."

"Oh, did you now?" He asked like he was surprised.

"Yeah, he lost in a practice duel with Jaden Yuki," She recounted. "Your name came up too, and not in a good way."

"The big bad brother." Zane didn't even blink. "What, does Jaden want to scold me now?"

"Actually, I think he wants to duel you." She replied.

Before he could say anything, they heard a familiar voice not too far from them.

"Is this necessary, Kaizen?" They turned toward the spot where the warehouses for the loading docks were, and saw two familiar figures standing there.

"Look, it's Syrus." Alexis pointed out and then noticed the other figure was Kaizen. It also looked like they were about to duel.

"Yes, it's necessary. No one's watching, it's just us. Whatever happens during this duel will just be between us. Now let's go!" Kaizen shouted, activating his duel disk.

Syrus knew he couldn't talk him out of it, so he activated his duel disk too.

"Duel!"

Kaizen: 4000

Syrus: 4000

"I'll go first!" Kaizen drew his sixth card.

"I summon Apprentice Magician in defense mode!" A young, blond magician in purple and a red headband appeared in a defensive crouch (400/800).

"I'll also set a card face-down and end my turn!" A facedown card appeared at his feet.

"My turn!" Syrus drew his next card. '_Okay, so if I'm right Kai uses a Spellcaster deck. I also have the feeling that he wants me to destroy his monster since it has pretty low defense points.'_

He looked over his cards and got an idea. "I play the spell card Shield Crush! This lets me destroy one monster on the field that's in defense mode. Guess who it is?" Apprentice Magician then proceeded to burst into pixels.

"Smart move," Alexis commented from where they were standing. They had moved a little closer to the battle to get a better view but they were still far enough away that they weren't seen. "When Apprentice Magician is destroyed, it allows you to summon another monster but that only happens if it's destroyed by battle."

Zane said nothing and kept watching.

"Next, I summon Patroid in attack mode!" The cartoon police car from his first duel appeared (1200/1200).

"Then I'll activate his special ability! Once per turn, I can look at one of my opponent's face downs and see what it is!" Patroid's sirens started going off and then Kaizen's face down flipped up to reveal a trap card with the picture of an ice altar with the spellbinding circle on the floor before returning to it's original position.

Syrus didn't know what it was but his brother did. "That's Magician's Circle," Zane said. "When a Spellcaster monster attacks both players can summon a Spellcaster from their decks as long as it has 2000 attack points or less."

"Alright, now Patroid! Attack Kaizen directly with Siren Smasher!" The police car's siren came on again and it sped towards Kai, ramming him in the chest at full force.

Kaizen: 2800

Syrus: 4000

"I end my turn! How'd you like that?" Syrus said.

Kai regained the breath he lost from that attack and straightened up. "Not bad Sy, but not bad is not good enough. It'll take more than that to beat me!"

Kai then drew his next card to see what he had. "I summon Gemini Elf in attack mode!" Appearing from twin pillars of light were two elves. A blond one with a blue dress reaching her mid-thighs, and a redhead in a purple dress with slits on both sides showing off her legs (1900/900).

"Next up, Gemini Elf, attack his Patroid with Twin Spell! And while I'm at it, I'll activate Magician's Circle!" Kaizen's trap activated. "Now we can both summon a spellcaster monster from our decks in attack mode, as long as they have 2000 atk points or less!"

"Oh man!" Syrus' deck was a machine deck, he didn't have any spellcasters.

"I summon Illusion Magician!" A small magician in purple robes appeared. Though his face wasn't visible there were two green eye dots. He also looked strangely familiar, and Syrus' face showed it (1100/1900).

"I know what you're thinking, he looks like Yugi's famous magician doesn't he?" Syrus nodded. "Well, I can tell you his special ability: while on the field or in the graveyard, Illusion Magician is treated as a Dark Magician!"

"What's the point of that?" The vehicroid duelist asked.

"You'll see later." Kaizen answered mysteriously.

While the duel was going on, Chumley and Jaden peaked around the corner of the storage house to get a better look. Winged Kuriboh had led them there a few minutes earlier, but when Jaden saw that they were dueling he moved Chumley into a spot where they could see but not be seen.

"Hey, that monster looks like Dark Magician." Chumley noted.

"It's not," Jaden explained. "That's Illusion Magician. It's special ability allows it to be treated like a Dark Magician, so Kai can use cards that require a Dark Magician, like Thousand Knives."

"Now Gemini Elf, attack that cop car!" The elves combined their magic into a single spell and blasted the poor car.

Kaizen: 2800

Syrus: 3300

"And now, my magician attacks you directly!" Using an attack just like the Dark Magician's, Syrus was knocked right off his feet.

Kaizen: 2800

Syrus: 2200

"Whoa, Sy took the early lead in this duel, but Kai turned it around in one move. I have a feeling this duel's going to go down to the wire." Alexis observed, impressed by the play on both sides.

Zane, as usual, said nothing, just watched his little brother duel.

"Lastly, I'll set these two face down and end my turn," Kaizen finished before returning his attention back to Syrus. "Come on Sy! My brother sees something in you that leads him to think you're a good duelist, now show me what he sees! Step up!"

Syrus rose to his feet, albite slowly since he had been knocked down pretty hard. '_Oh man, I was wondering if Kaizen was as good as Jaden, but I'm starting to think that he might be __**better**__.'_ he thought before shaking his head. '_No. I can't start thinking negative now. Like Kai said, I need to step up!'_

"My draw!" Syrus drew his next card then scanned the cards in his hand to come up with a plan. '_Okay, since Illusion Magician can be treated like a Dark Magician, then Kaizen must have cards that require a Dark Magician in his deck. So the first thing to do is destroy Illusion Magician. I may not know what that face-down card is, but I can't let that hold me back!'_

"I summon Steamroid in attack mode!" The cartoon train from his duel with Jaden appeared giving a loud train whistle (1800/1800).

"Now, Steamroid! Attack Illusion Magician! And when Steamroid attacks, it gets an extra 500 attack points!" The train sounded another whistle as it's power rose (1800-2300/1800). It then charged at the purple spellcaster and destroyed it on impact. Kai raised his arm to shield himself.

Kaizen: 1600

Syrus: 2200

"Licious! Now Kai can't use any cards that need a Dark Magician!" Chumley cheered, thinking Syrus had the duel won, but Jaden just watched, growing concern for what that face-down of his twin's might be.

"Whoa! Sy just took back the lead!" Alexis said, really impressed with how the younger Truesdale was dueling compared to yesterday.

Zane remained silent, his eyes not betraying anything, though he was also wondering what Kaizen's face-down was.

"Then I set one card face down! How's that for stepping up?" Sy asked as a face-down appeared behind Steamroid.

Kaizen lowered his arm and looked at the short Slifer with unreadable eyes. '_I think I'm starting to see what Jaden saw in him. He has skill and I respect that.'_

Kaizen's face betrayed a small smile as he drew his next card. '_But that doesn't mean that I'm going to just let him win!'_

He then heard a familiar giggle, and looked to see what, or should we say _who_ he'd just drawn. '_Mana! I'm going to guess and say that you want to come out and play.'_

"_Of course! It's been so long since we've battled together!"_

'_Alrighty then!'_ Kaizen smirked. "You're in for it now, Syrus! I'm about to summon the monster that's top of the card crush list!"

"What do you mean?" Syrus asked.

Everyone was wondering the same thing, except Jaden since he had a feeling who was about to come out.

"Looks like she's about to steal the show." Jaden muttered, Chumley looking at him questioningly.

"I sacrifice my Gemini Elf to summon the one and only, Dark Magician Girl!" Gemini Elf disappeared as a flurry of hearts appeared out of thin air. From those hearts came the young and beautiful magician that was Kai's spirit partner (2000/1700).

"Wow! She's even cuter in person!" Syrus gushed, looking like a lovesick teenager.

"Well, looks like I found his kryptonite." Kai muttered as DMG laughed.

"Oh boy." Zane breathed, saying his first words the entire time.

Alexis looked at him questioningly.

"Wow, I didn't know Kaizen had that card!" Chumley gasped at the sight of the blond magician.

"That was the card I was keeping safe for him." Jaden mentioned.

"I told you I was going to push you Syrus and Dark Magician Girl's going to help me with that!" Kaizen declared. "Especially since she gains 300 attack points for every Dark Magician or Magician of Black Chaos in the graveyard!"

"Oh man, and Illusion Magician counts as a Dark Magician." Syrus remembered as Mana was surrounded by a pink aura, getting her a power boost (2000-2300/1700).

"Now, Dark Magician Girl use Dark Burning attack!" Kaizen shouted. The mage cheered as she made a dark pink ball with her scepter and flung it at Steamroid.

"Not so fast! I activate my trap! No Entry!" Syrus called as a trap card with a picture of two guards guarding a cell popped up. "Now all monsters in attack mode are forced into defense mode!"

"Yeah. If I gave you that chance!" Kaizen countered activating his face down. "I activate Dust Tornado! I bet you already know what it does!"

"Oh no! There goes Sy's counter!" Jaden said, knowing what was coming.

A tornado then appeared on Syrus' side of the field and blew away his trap card. Dark Magician Girl's attack resumed and destroyed Steamroid.

Kaizen: 1600

Syrus: 1700

"Wow, they're nearly tied in points!" Chumley said, astonished.

"This next turn could decide everything." Alexis said, watching the duel with near baited breath.

"I'll set this face down for the second effect." Kaizen said, setting another face down.

"Okay, here we go!" Syrus said, drawing his next card. '_This is it! This is my last turn to turn things around!'_

He looked at the card and gasped. '_Power Bond!'_ He then looked over the cards in his hand. '_Maybe…this plan just might work.'_

"I summon Gyroid in attack mode!" A cartoon looking helicopter appeared (1000/1000).

"Then, I use Monster Reborn to bring Steamroid back from the graveyard!" The cartoon train reappeared (1800/1800).

Taking a deep breath Syrus made his next move. "I set a card face down and then play the spell card Power Bond! Now I fusion summon Steam Gyroid in attack mode!" Like with a Polymerization card, the two monsters swirled together and out came a Steamroid with Gyroid's propellers (2200/1600).

"And, due to Power Bond's second ability, Steam Gyroid's attack points double!" (2200-4400/1600).

"Now Steam Gyroid, attack with Loco Locomotion! Sorry Dark Magician Girl!" He added that last part quickly. Steam Gyroid's propellers spun rapidly and sped toward the blond mage.

"I reveal my face down!" Kaizen called out. "Ring of Destruction! Now we both take damage equal to Steam Gyroid's original attack points!"

"I was ready for something like that!" Syrus declared, activating his own face down. "Go De-Fusion!"

Steam Gyroid and split back into the two monsters that was used to summon it (1800/1800) (1000/1000).

"Whoa, that was like a game of chicken!" Jaden said, surprised that Syrus worked up the courage to play Power Bond at all.

"No joke!" Chumley agreed.

"Good move playing De-Fusion. Not only does that get rid of Ring of Destruction's target, but now he won't take any damage from Power Bond's side effect." Alexis spoke awed. Syrus was dueling like a completely different person right now.

Zane remained stoic, but his eyes showed that he was thinking the same way.

'_I did it! I managed to play Power Bond without it backfiring on me!'_ Syrus then looked at his two monsters and knew how to follow up.

"Steamroid, you attack first!" The cartoon train blow it's whistle as it's attack points went up for the attack (1800-2300/1800). As it crashed into Dark Magician Girl she gathered enough magic in her hands to zap Steamroid and take it down with her.

"Now it's Gyroid's turn to attack." The cartoon like helicopter performed a similar attack to Steam Gyroid and slammed into Kaizen with enough force to knock him to the ground.

Kaizen: 600

Syrus: 1700

"Man, Kaizen got nailed!" Chumley exclaimed.

"I can't believe it! Kaizen might actually lose!" Alexis said with equal surprise.

"Good shot Syrus, but the duel isn't over until the last card is played." Kaizen said, getting up.

He then drew his next card. "First, I play my last face down Call of the Haunted and bring back my Dark Magician Girl!" Said mage reappeared in a flash, literally (2000-2300/1700).

"I'll still be here after the attack. Once per turn, Gyroid can't be destroyed. Even if I take damage I'll still be in this duel!" Syrus told him, not showing any fear.

"He's right. Even with that power boost, Syrus will still have 400 life points left." Alexis realized.

"I have a feeling though we shouldn't count Kaizen out just yet." Zane spoke up, watching the duel intently.

"True, but that depends on what I pull out right here, right now!" Kaizen said, a smirk playing at his lips as he held up one more card.

"I equip Dark Magician Girl with Magic Formula giving her an extra 700 attack points!" A large spellbook appeared in the girl's hands. As she skimmed through it, she gained a new magic (2300-3000/1700).

"Now to end this. Dark Magician Girl, attack with Dark Evaporation Wave!" Mana gave Syrus an apologetic look before casting her new spell. She waved her wand at the ground and created a purple sea that came rushing at the opposing monster. Gyroid was able to withstand it, but Syrus got knocked down due to still taking damage.

Kaizen: 600

Syrus: 0

The duel was over. Kaizen walked over and helped Syrus to his feet. "That was a good duel Syrus. You fought well."

"I don't know, Kaizen," Sy replied, feeling down. "I don't think I did that great. I still lost."

"Syrus, a wise man once said that there are no lessons in victory but a thousand in defeat," Kaizen explained, saying the things Zane should have said. "We learn and get better at things by failing. We learn from that and become stronger. You're a stronger duelist now because you lost."

Syrus thought on Kai's words for a moment and realized he was right. He had dueled much better today than he had yesterday. He remembered Patroid's special ability, was prepared for counter measures, and even found the courage to try and use Power Bond. "I guess you're right Kai. I did duel well today. Maybe I can do it again."

"I know you can." Kaizen encouraged, extending his hand. "Great duel Syrus."

"Thanks, Kai." Syrus smiled, shaking the spellcaster duelist's hand.

"Sweet duel, Kai! You too, Sy!" The two duelists jumped and turned to see Jaden and Chumley come out from they were hiding and walk over to them.

"Jaden! Chumley!" Syrus exclaimed. "What are you guys doing here?!"

"We went looking for you after we found your note in our room," Jaden explained. "Looks like Kai found you first though. We got here a while a go but we didn't want to interrupt the duel."

"Kind of you." The spellcaster duelist smiled.

"Wait, you saw all that?!" Syrus asked.

"Not just them," Alexis spoke up, she and Zane walking over to the group. "We saw you guys earlier, but decided to watch the duel instead."

Syrus noticed who exactly was with Alexis. "Zane?"

This got the Yuki brothers' attention and looked at the older brother. "So, this is the big man on campus, huh?" Kai said, looking the older boy over.

Zane felt the scrutinizing gaze and returned it. He then turned towards the other brunette Slifer. "I was told you were looking for a duel."

"You bet!" Jaden said in a tone that left no room for argument. "Let's duel!"

"No, Jaden!" Syrus said, scared at what his friend was going to get into.

Zane looked at him for moment before answering. "Sure, why not? After all, it's been awhile since I went slumming."

"Slumming? Already this guy sounds like an arrogant-" Kaizen started but Jaden cut him off.

"Kai, watch your language!" Jaden said a tone that was trying to be stern but wasn't.

"You're not mother!" Kaizen said back in the same tone, though he was smiling.

Jaden smiled back before turning back to Zane. "Get your game on Zane!"

"Jaden, he's good." Syrus pleaded, trying to talk his friend out of it.

"I'm sure he is." Jaden replied, not backing down. '_And I'm sure this duel will solve Sy's confidence problem without hurting mine.'_

Kai passed Jaden his duel disk and Zane got his. The two duelists soon faced each other in the spots where Syrus and Kaizen had just stood, while everyone else gathered to the side.

'_This'll be an interesting match,'_ The spellcaster duelist thought. '_The best duelists of Slifer and Obelisk duking it out.'_

"Duel!" They both shouted, drawing their opening hands.

Zane: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"Aw man, my big brother taking on my best friend?" Syrus moaned. "There's no way that this can turn out good."

"Ok, now we find out what's going on with Sy and his bro," Jaden smiled, his excitement showing in his face. "And we find out how I rank with the best."

Alexis watched with anticipation along with Kaizen.

"Here I come, Zane!" He drew his card.

"First, I'm gonna summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode!" The winged hero made his entrance (1000/1000).

"And I think I'll go ahead and throw down a face-down while I'm at it."

"That's all, huh?" Zane drew his card.

"Ok, for my first move, I summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode." They all watched in amazement as a metallic dragon rose from the ground and curled behind its master (2100/1600).

"What?" Jaden exclaimed. "How can you bring a level five monster out on your very first turn?"

"I can play my Cyber Dragon _because_ it's my first turn, Jaden." Zane explained. "With no monsters out, he requires no sacrifice. And now I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card."

Jaden turned away as his face-down was blown away by mini cyclone. "That was fast."

"Not as fast as your life point meter will go down. Cyber Dragon, attack! Strident Blast!" Zane commanded. The metallic dragon rose up and breathed a stream of fire, engulfing Avian completely.

Zane: 4000

Jaden: 2900

Syrus watched as his friend lost a huge chunk of his life points. '_I tried to warn him that Zane was good.'_

'_Dang it, Jaden, how many times did I have to show you by dueling you that putting a monster in attack mode on the first turn is a bad idea!?'_ Kaizen thought, crossly.

"Next," Zane held up a card. "I activate the spell card, Different Dimension Capsule." A strange looking sarcophagus with a clock symbol in the center.

"It allows me to pick any card from my deck. Then I simply place it in the capsule, and in two turns I get to take it out and put it right into my hand." Jaden watched as the capsule opened, letting the hologram card inside and closing before the sinking into the ground.

"Man," Jaden said, wiping the end of his nose. "That's gotta be the best card out a' his entire deck. "I can't wait to see what's gonna come out of there."

'_Well I can,' _Syrus thought, miserably. ''_Cuz it's not gonna be pretty.'_

"It's your move, Jaden." Zane said.

'_Yeah, and I'd better make it count,' _Jaden thought as he looked at Zane and his metal dragon. ''_Cuz I'm startin' to get the feeling that not only is this guy as good as everyone says he is, he might even be better. But still, that doesn't mean he's better than me.'_

Jaden smirked. "All right, round two," He drew his next card.

"And first I'm gonna rock Polymerization. And next I'll roll out Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Clayman, and fuse them together to create Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." The large, armored hero appeared on the field, letting out a mighty roar (2400/1500).

"Was the rock n' roll comment really necessary?" Kaizen asked, sweat dropping.

"And since his special ability destroys monsters with less attack points than him, your Cyber Dragon gets vaporized!" Jaden explained as Thunder Giant struck Cyber Dragon with a bolt of lightning, destroying it.

"Yes!" Jaden smiled. "Looks like Thunder Giant just made the big man on campus get a little smaller, wouldn't ya say?"

"Yeah, I would say it!" Chumley nodded.

"Whoa." Syrus said, surprised.

"And the best part is that since that blast was just Thunder Giant's special ability," Jaden smiled even more. "I still get to use his attack! And since you're now defenseless, I'm gonna use it directly on you!"

Thunder Giant gathered a large amount of energy in his hands and fired it at Zane, hitting him dead on. However, Zane didn't even flinch. He just stood there as his life points went down a lot.

Zane: 1600

Jaden: 2900

"Ya could at least kind of flinch." Jaden muttered setting a face down. "Oh, well, maybe this face down card will get ya to later."

'_Yeah, if Jaden lasts long enough to use it.'_ Syrus thought, turning to his brother.

"Man, this guy's like ice, even when hit!" Kaizen exclaimed.

"Nice moves, kid," Zane said as he drew his card. "Of course, with my field now empty again, I can just throw out another Cyber Dragon." Another metallic dragon appeared in front of Zane, giving a distorted growl (2100/1600).

"Or better yet, two!" He held up a card. "I play Monster Reborn. And with just one monster in my graveyard, you can guess who's coming back." He said as his disk glowed and his first Cyber Dragon reappeared next to the second one (2100/1600).

"But neither will be here long…" Zane took another card from his hand, which happened to be Polymerization. "In present form. Dragons, unite." He commanded as both dragons swirled together.

"Now, Cyber Twin Dragon, emerge." From a dark void, a new monster appeared. It had the heads of both dragons on one body and different colored circle on each head. One was yellow and the other was blue (2800/2100).

"Twin Dragon?" Chumley stared at the creature in fear. "One was tough enough."

"Now, my dragon can attack twice in a round," Zane pointed to Jaden's monster. "Which means double the trouble for your monster and your life points. Twin Dragon, attack!" He commanded.

"Not so fast!" Jaden interrupted. "I've gotta a trap card out, A Hero Emerges!"

Both Truesdale brothers were surprised to varying degrees. Kaizen didn't remember that card but smiled at his brother's tactics.

"Now normally, you'd have to randomly pick one a' the cards in my hand, and if it was a monster, I'd get to summon it. But since I only have one card in my hand, let's just get right to it, shall we? Wroughtweiler, defense mode." A large, black, mechanical dog, appeared next to Thunder Giant in a defensive crouch (800/1200).

"You'll need him. Cyber Twin Dragon, Double Strident Blast!" Zane ordered. His two headed monster let out two separate blasts, each hitting a monster.

Zane: 1600

Jaden: 2500

Jaden dropped the arm he used to shield himself. "Glad ya did that, 'cuz when Wroughtweiler's destroyed, his special ability activates. It brings one Elemental Hero and Polymerization card back from the graveyard and into my hand. And just when you thought you could probably stop worryin' about 'em, huh, Zane?"

"I don't worry." Zane said evenly.

Jaden actually chuckled a little. "Man, you're chill. Not worryin', not even flinchin'. You are good."

Zane smiled slightly. "You, too, Jaden."

"Now he's being nice?" Kaizen deadpanned.

Syrus was stunned by what he just heard. '_Whoa, since when does Zane give props?'_

"Now where was I? Oh, yeah," Jaden drew his card. "I was about to summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode." A blue, cape wearing hero, appeared, water gun ready to fire (800/1200).

"And since Bubbleman's the only monster out on my field, I can use his special ability to draw two more cards to my hand." He drew his cards and then heard the sound of his little spirit friend.

He looked at the new cards he got. '_Transcendent Wings and Winged Kuriboh, the cards I used to trash that Dragon Catapult Cannon in my duel with Chazz. An evolved Winged Kuriboh would turn Zane's Cyber Twin Dragon into a pile of cyber junk. Then, it's attack points would be dealt to him as damage. That'd be enough to drop his life points to zero and win the duel. But I can't summon any more monsters this round, so I'm gonna hafta wait until my next turn.'_

He looked over the other cards he had. '_Still, I won't have to wait until next turn to use another card.'_

Kaizen then noticed the little fuzzball spirit beside his brother. '_When did he get that little fella?'_

"Alright, Zane," Jaden said. "I play Polymerization and fuse my Elemental Hero Bubbleman with Elemental Hero Clayman. Now, Elemental Hero Mudballman, rise in defense mode." A new monster, with a well rounded body, arms, and blue head kneeled in defense mode, protecting Jaden (1900/3000).

"'Lishius." Chumley smiled. "Mudballman's got 3000 defense points. That Twin Dragon's attack won't get through to Jaden."

"And if I know my brother, he's got an endgame strategy waiting in the wings!" Kaizen added.

'_I can't believe it,' _Syrus thought, stunned, though his face didn't show it. '_Jaden might actually win.'_

"Now gimme your best shot, Zane!" Jaden challenged.

"My best shot? You got it." Zane drew his card and the capsule from his first turn came up out of the ground.

'_Oh, no.'_ Syrus had a feeling what this meant.

'_The capsule!'_ Kaizen thought, worried for his brother.

"It's been two turns since I activated Different Dimension Capsule, and now I can take the card I first put into it and add it to my hand." The capsule burst apart and Zane put the aforementioned card in his hand, then looked Jaden dead in the eye. "You played well, but not well enough."

"Hey, gimme what you got. I'm ready." Jaden said, not scared of what comes next.

"I'm sure you are. A good duelist is ready for anything, and that means not just knowing how to use all of their cards, but knowing how to play them, too," Zane said, before smiling lightly. "And you play your cards well, Jaden."

'_Knowing how to play your cards?'_ Syrus got an 'aha' look on his face.

'_That's a nice compliment, but even better advice.' _Jaden thought. '_Hope Sy's listenin'.'_

And Syrus was listening. '_Of course. Knowing how to use a card and knowing how to play it are two totally different things. That's what Zane was trying to tell me all those years ago. I get it now.'_

'_I think Syrus is gonna be just fine in his tag duel now.'_ Kaizen thought, smiling.

"First I'll activate this De-fusion card. It splits my monster by into two separate Cyber Dragons." Zane paused as his monsters took their original forms.

"Next, I'll activate the magic of Power Bond!" Syrus gasped.

"With this spell card, I'm allowed to summon a machine type fusion monster. And with another Cyber Dragon in my hand as well, I can now fuse 3 of them together and create the Cyber End Dragon." The spectators watched as out of a torrent of blue flames, a winged dragon with three heads appeared (4000/2800).

"Whoa!" Kaizen shouted. "It's a mechanical version of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"Plus, it's attack points are doubled because of Power Bond's effect." The machine dragon sparked and roared as his powers increased (4000-8000/2800).

"8000?" Chumley gasped.

"And keep in mind, when Cyber End Dragon attacks, the difference between his attack points and your monster's defense points are dealt to you as damage." Zane added.

Jaden's eyes widened and he had a lopsided grin.

"Just hang tough." Chumley yelled. "If you can survive his attack, you can win for sure 'cause of Power Bond's nasty side effect."

"Chumley's right." Alexis agreed. "At the end of the turn Power Bond is used, the player who activated the card takes damage equal to their attacking monster's original attack points."

'_Yeah, but not if you play it right,'_ Syrus thought, hearing his friend. '_And Zane has. I just wish it didn't have to be at Jaden's expense.'_

And to confirm it, Kaizen said, "Too bad Jaden doesn't have anything out to protect his monster or his life points."

"Cyber End Dragon, attack Mudballman. Super Strident Blaze!" Zane called, waving his arm.

Jaden watched his last monster was destroyed by a powerful blast, before the leftover power hit him dead on. After the blow, he dropped to his knees with his head bowed.

Zane: 1600

Jaden: 0

"Jaden, no!" Chumley yelled.

"I can't believe it," Alexis stared. "He lost."

Kaizen said nothing and walked over to his brother. When he reached him, he kneeled down beside him, and put his hand on his shoulder. "Good fight out there, little brother." He whispered.

Jaden looked at his brother, smiling at the comfort he had missed over the months Kai had been gone. He then turned to the older Truesdale, smile still present. "Thanks for a great duel, Zane."

Zane smiled and then turned away, then looked back at his brother. The boys stared at each other, as an understanding passed between the two. Zane turned away again, and then walked away, Alexis running to catch up with him.

"So, Zane, whatta ya think?" She asked.

Zane kept his usual calm face. "I think Sy chose good friends, Alexis."

"Your brother's got mad skills." Jaden commented to Syrus, watching Zane leave.

"Well, at least I got the looks," Syrus said. The other boys looked at him before they all started laughing. Syrus too, before stopping. "What's funny?"

"Come on, let's go home and work on our desks." Jaden offered. "And I say we arrange yours so you can finally use Power Bond. How 'bout it?"

"For sure," Syrus nodded in agreement. "Now I know how to play it, not just use it."

A loud rumbling sound made them turn to look at Chumley holding his stomach. "Yeah, well, you know what I could use?" He asked. "A coupla grilled cheese sandwiches."

The other boys felt their stomachs growl too, at that moment.

"Not if I scarf 'em all down first, Chumley!" Jaden said, taking off towards the dorm.

"That's assuming I don't get there first, my glutton of a twin brother!" Kaizen called after him.

"Wait up!" Syrus called, catching up with them.

"Aw, we gotta run again?" Chumley complained, bringing up the rear. Everyone laughed as they ran home, like happy little school boys. "Seriously, can we just walk though?"

What they didn't see was a lone figure standing on top of the storage house. "Soon, Kaizen. You may have escaped the shadows, but I have a feeling that they're not through with you yet." Then the figure disappeared, like a thief in the night.

**Finally, this chapter is done!**

**Zachery: Don't forget about the career fair in thirteen minutes!**

**I know! Anyway, read, review, and stay tuned!**


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